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Anaerobic Digestion plants produce various gas components from a source material (or feedstock) that can be composed either solely or as a mixture of slurries, purpose-grown crops, food and organic waste material. The composition of the gas produced varies depending upon the feedstock and the Anaerobic digestion process itself. As a consequence, it is normal to measure various components of the resultant gas produced to evaluate the efficiency of the Anaerobic Digestion process. Furthermore, due to the flammable nature of Methane (CH4), and the risk of asphyxiation, most plants feature ambient air monitoring to protect personnel from any unplanned accumulation of leaked gas.
CH4 is the gas component fuel, which is the intended end product of the anaerobic digestion process. In biogas plants, the concentration of CH4 in a working plant varies between 50%-75%, which is well above the Upper Explosive Limit (UEL).

Syngas (short for synthetic gas) can be burnt and used as a fuel source, the main constituents of syngas are Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Hydrogen (H), which amount for around 85% of Syngas, and it is produced by a process called Gasification.
Gasification starts with a base material which can originate from a wide variety of materials for example wood chips and pellets, plastics, municipal solid waste, sewage, waste crops, and fossil fuels such as coal. During Gasification the base material is reacted at high temperature without combustion with controlled amounts of oxygen (O) or steam. The composition of the base material combined with the amount of oxygen and heat used in the process affects the composition of the resultant SynGas, in which the CO can vary between around 20 and 60%. In addition, large amounts of H and CO are also formed. The measurement of CO is therefore an important feature in the production of SynGas.

The use of alternative combustion fuels that provide a renewable source of energy is a major area of research and investment. Sources of biomass fuels include virgin wood, energy crops, agricultural residues, food waste and industrial waste. Controlling the combustion process of any new fuel and keeping track of the biomass fuel emissions of combustion by-products is important to users of these new fuels.

Biogas is a natural gas also known as biofuel or biomass and is produced by breaking down organic material such as household waste, manure and crops grown specifically for biofuel with temperature-sensitive microbes and capturing the by-products.

If you produce or consume biomass fuels, you know that quality is critical to your success, and you know that moisture and ash content control are critical to biomass fuel quality. Too much moisture and you get poor efficience and high emissions. Too much ash and you get fouling and slagging. And if either of those is uncontrolled, purchase contracts can fall through. Computrac can help.